BLACK AND BLUE – “A fairly decent gritty police thriller”

RATING

DIRECTOR

Justin Dec

STARRING

Naomie Harris as Alicia West

Tyrese Gibson as Milo "Mouse" Jackson

Frank Grillo as Terry Malone

Mike Colter as Darius

Reid Scott as Kevin

Nafessa Williams as Missy

SYNOPSIS

A rookie policewoman in New Orleans inadvertently captures the shooting death of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the only person from the community who's willing to help her. Now, she finds herself on the run from both the vengeful criminals and the lawmen who desperately want to destroy the incriminating footage.

REVIEW SUMMARY

The good news: Black and Blue makes for a fairly decent gritty police thriller. The bad news: you've seen this movie before. Yep, there's sadly nothing new here (corrupt cops / a do-good rookie / a broken neighbourhood looking for redemption), but it is admittedly executed rather well. The talented cast is mostly to thank for this, as Naomie Harris leads a stellar group of actors as policemen and hoodlums alike in (for the most part) believable performances all-round. Things do get dragged out a little too much by the end however, making for a viewing experience that could definitely have benefited from being 10-15 minutes shorter. But as far as cop crime actioners go, Black and Blue gets the job done, and even hits on some topical themes along the way. If only it was the first time we see it done.